OMG Don is Hurt
Hit by a truck in the dark. Bike broken in two. No GPS. Stuck out in the dark. People are with him. He can barely talk. Afraid he might have broken his leg. 12 miles from the end of the Special.

Team Delta Kunststoffe Husqvarna UK suffers some bad luck in a difficult and dangerous stage three as the race makes its way toward the famous city of Nazca.

Stage three proved to be another difficult stage, with big dunes, soft sand and fesh fesh causing many of competitors problems over the stage. The seemingly short day of 280km proved to be deceivingly difficult.

Despite the nature of the stage, Simon had another steady day as he rode within himself to take 69th place on the stage. Uncomfortable with a lot of the terrain during the stage Simon elected to take the cautious approach as the stage was littered with hidden holes and steep dunes.

However, Canadian Don Hatton was involved in a freak incident. Working through the difficult sands of the stage Don was involved in an incident with a truck that saw some damage to his bike. The incident appeared to have damaged his gear selector, leaving him with difficulty changing gear. Don struggled on through the difficult riding attempting to nurse his bike to end of the special stage but the selector finally stopped choosing gear just 4km from the end of the special. Despite hours of trying to get out of the sand, his bike stuck in neutral, and attempting to convince the organisers to tow him the last part of the stage Don was forced to retire at 1:00 am local time.

Simon Pavey  Today was tough again, some of the riding was technical, more so then we have had so far. I wasnt comfortable to ride fast today at all, I really took my time. I stopped twice for a few minutes to fix a problem with my hydration pack as well and on Dakar stopping for just a few minutes costs you 20 places.

The terrain on the stage was treacherous again today, there were lots of hidden dangers out there and it was the type stage that could easily bite you. I was lucky to be relatively near the front of the race today too, there was a chunk of fesh fesh toward the end of the stage, but when I got there I was still able to pick a clean line and ride on the crust.

Once again my bike felt really good, Im finding it strange to have a bike thats so good for racing, its much more than Ive had in rallys before and because it wants to be raced it can be a little tiring. Its a new style of Dakar that has developed over the last couple of years; it takes some adjusting to get used too. The rally still hasnt really begun yet though, weve got eleven days left so well just take each day as it comes.

Stage four of the Dakar is the first long stage of the race, made up of a tough 288km special stage followed by a gruelling 429km liaison to reach the town of Arequipa.

Bad like strikes again for Team Delta Kunststoffe Husqvarna UK, but Simon puts in a strong ride to salvage the stage.

Stage four was the first of the 2013 Dakars long stages with competitors racking up 700km of riding on the last stage in Peru. The technical and dusty stage claimed even more victims but once again Simon rode strongly.

Sadly Simons efforts were merely a salvage mission as the Australian had to ride hard to make up for losing almost two hours due to an unfortunate mechanical error that saw the bike cease to run after just 16km of the special stage.

Taking time to diagnose the potential problems and trying to contact the team for advice on the situation, Simon dropped an hour behind the last motorcycle on stage and was behind the lead cars when he diagnosed the issue of a fuel tap not being turned on.

Despite this setback Simon pushed on hard, passing more than 50 bikes to pull himself up to an impressive 126th place on the stage. On the most physical and technical special stage of the rally yet, Simon and his Husqvarna TE 449 SPR excelled and showed some of the potential of the bike.

Don Hatton has also continued on to help Simon as part of assistance crew. Dons collision with a truck on stage three saw his bike damaged extremely badly and the incident started a downward spiral that saw Don forced to retire in the early hours of the morning.

Simon Pavey  It was a shame that we had the mistake today, its an unfortunate thing and sometimes these things happen. Despite the setback though, I had a great day. I loved the riding today, it was technical, physical and I rode really well.

I felt so at home on the bike, everything was working perfectly. Once I caught up to the last bike, riders started coming thick and fast. The more difficult nature of the day suited me and I was riding fast without trying. It was definitely the most fun stage of the race so far. I managed to pass six riders on one of the difficult climbs and there was a really steep, fast downhill that was superb.

Then we had a big liaison section, it was 430 km of slow going. Were limited to 100km/h and the road was coastal and slow. It grated a lot and we didnt get into until late today. Tomorrow should be a fun special stage though, its bikes only and in previous years they have been the most fun stages.

On stage five the rally will cross over to Chile, but not without the competitors racing their final stage in Peru, a shorter 136km stage, before heading toward the town of Arica.

The technical stage five provides a good result as the Delta Kunststoffe Husqvarna UK rider fights to put the previous stage behind him.

On paper the short stage five should have been one of the easier stages, but the technical riding, fesh fesh and rocks reveal it to be the toughest stage yet. Once again the stage claimed its victims as the bikes had their first bike only stage of the rally.

Starting the stage behind 125 bikes and 30 quads, Simon pushed hard all day in the physical and dangerous riding to regain his position in the starting order. With technical nature of the riding requiring good line choice and careful navigation in the dust of the Fesh Fesh, Simon quickly found himself at home as he began to pass rider after rider.

Despite the stage being only 136km Simons clever and aggressive riding saw him pass around 50 vehicles and take an impressive 64th overall. Following the stage the riders headed south across the Chilean border on the spectacular Pan Americana.
Simon Pavey Wow today was hard! The stage was physical and technical. It was brutal really. Starting at the back of the field makes life so hard; the course is so bad by the time you get there the track is destroyed. The stage was dangerous today too. The fesh fesh was deep, littered with rocks and generally difficult to ride. We crossed a rock field that was 14km long and another gulley that had foot deep fesh fesh ruts.

I tried to ride smart today, even though I pushed on, I stayed out of the fesh fesh completely. Sometimes it cost me time but Im not going to take the risk of pushing hard when I cant see. There were so many boulders in the fesh fesh and its scary. Overall it was great fun though, the best riding is always technical and I had a really good day. Its good to get back up the pack again as quickly as I have. The track really is much harder to ride at the back of the race.

It looks like the stage tomorrow will be difficult again. We have a really early start and a long stage ahead. Coupled with that loss of two hours sleep tonight, tomorrow is going to be really tiring.

The caravan heads south from Arica to Calama tomorrow, with a painfully long stage of 769km for the competitors to enjoy. The stage is meant to be another difficult event, with even more of the dreaded fesh fesh.

A stroke of good luck hits Team Delta Kunststoffe Husqvarna UK and despite the fast and dangerous nature of the stage Simon claims another solid result.

Stage six of the Dakar brought about the start of the truly gruelling stages of this years Dakar. The tiredness has set in with all the competitors and the two hour time difference in Chile means that the 769km stage was made even harder.

The racing was broken into two sections, split with a timed liaison on the road. The first half of the stage was technical and sandy riding, that suited Simons riding style and he made good progress, catching and passing many riders.

Around the half way point in the stage the terrain changed, becoming much faster, dustier and dangerous. Not suiting Simons conservative style his hard work in the morning was slowly undone. Despite this he once again climbed in the general standings,
Simon Pavey  Today I had real stroke of luck just before the beginning of the special stage. I snuck off to go to the toilet behind some rocks and as I was squatted down I noticed the exhaust bracket had broken off. Sometimes you need that sort of luck!

The stage was split into two vastly different stages. The first section was great. It was technical, physical and hard going. It really suited me, I was riding well and picked off a bunch of riders quickly, its the type of riding I love.

The second half was everything I dont like however. The terrain changed completely, we went onto tracks, it was dusty, extremely fast and dangerous really. I dont like to take the risk and ride full gas, but a lot of the guys Id passed are happy to ride like that. It cost me time but I have to accept it.

The tiredness has really set in now too. Today was long and things are accumulating. We lost two hours sleep last night and had a five am start. The team was already tired before that too, as the night Don went out was hard for us all, now its getting really tough. We have another difficult day again tomorrow, its 800km and the stage goes over 4000m and we are racing at that altitude too.

For stage seven the rally crosses another border into Argentina. Travelling from Calama to Salta the stage is a gruelling 751 km.

Simon has a good day in the altitude of the Andes on a spectacular marathon stage.

Stage seven saw Simon again climb up the rankings on the highest ever stage in a Dakar Rally. The rally crossed the Andes for the first time of the 2013 edition of the Dakar, a stage that always brings about fears with altitude sickness. Coupled with temperatures as low as four degrees the competitors are being given no rest.

A prepared Simon dealt well with the high altitude and recorded his best result for several days with 58th overall, one of only a handful of riders on the whole race to make significant position gains over the previous days results.

The special stage was once again a tale of two halves. Starting out with a collection of extremely fast dusty tracks, where passing was almost impossible, the riders were left to chase the dust cloud. However after 130km the trail changed dramatically into a twisty, flowing and varied track, one that suited Simons technical riding style. For the rest of the stage he made great progress and once again edged up the general standings.

The liaison after the special stage also came as a surprise to the racers as the first off road connection of the rally revealed itself to be riding gem. The 170km connection was made up of a slow mountain track that weaved its way through the mountains at around 5000m.

Simon Pavey  Today turned out to be a great days riding, I was really shocked. The liaison in the morning was really difficult, we climb the mountain so quickly and its really hard to stay awake on the bike. I have done it a few times now and have a good method for dealing with it, its not fool proof but it worked so far.

Its silly that the organisers make the liaison tight on time too. I know they are keen to get the race across the mountains but this type of stage, its plain dangerous. Altitude sickness is inconsistent and it can hit anyone in a bad way. With the border crossing, I only had a few minutes to make my special stage start time, if Id needed to stop there is no way I would have made it.

However I really enjoyed the stage. The first 130km or so was boring, fast and the dust was really bad. I was a few places behind a quad and it was holding about five of us up. I got a lucky break and managed to sneak past them all just before the trail changed into an awesome, twisty and much more fun stage. I loved every minute of it and I rode it well. It was a spectacular stage.

The liaison afterward was even better again. All the riders were expecting a wide dirt road with loads of dust, but what we got was one of the best trails I have a ever ridden. It twisted over the Andes, second gear the whole way. I rode it nice and steady because of the high altitude but it was fantastic.

Tomorrows stage has been shortened to accommodate for the unexpected high rains in the region. The rally heads from Salta to San Miguel de Tucuman where they will have the rest day, marking the half way point in the race.

The eighth stage of the Dakar was expected to be tricky and, above all, long. Even the cancellation of the first part of the special due to torrential rain didn't blunt the edge of this stage.

Here at HQ we are still waiting for an update from the team at the bivouac. What we do know back in the UK is that Simon made good progress again yesterday finishing a fantastic 50th probably due to his excellent navigational skills which may proved to be the decisive factor. At kilometre 122 a group of wayward riders lost almost half an hour making a wrong turn and heading into the hills for 10km before realising their mistake and having to return. With Simons strong performance and careful navigation we can only assume he did not make the same mistake.

Sunday is the only rest day of the 2013 Dakar. If we get more news back today we will send a further release.